Loom.



M. L. CHRISTIAN.

LOOM.

APPLIcATIoN YILBD Alma, 1910.

. w". wl. wm A; mm p; Mu V76 W mm a:

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'UNITED sTA'rEs P'rENT OFFICE.

MADISON L. CHRISTIAN, OF CLI1`T'1'ON, IOWA, ASSIGNOB. TO THE AMERICAN WIRE FABRIC COMPANY, OF CLINTON, IOWA, A CORPORATION OF IOWA.

LOOM.

Speeiflcation of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 4, 1 91 3.

'0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MADIsoN L. Crims- 'rIAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at lClinton, in the' county of Clinton and State of Iowa, have invented new and useful Improvements in Looms, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention has reference to looms, and more especially to improvements in or relating to the shuttles and the operating or carrymg mechanism associated therewith.

The invention is designed primarily for application to looms for weavin wire cloth and to looms of the type speci ed wherein two separate pieces of cloth are woven at one time.

A structural embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

'Figure 1 is a front elevation of the 1mproved loom. Fig. 2 is a Vertical sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the socket members and the releasing devices which coperate with the same.

It is the purpose of this invention, as above stated, to provide a loom construction wherein provision 'is made for weaving two separate pieces of cloth at once. In consequence, two separate shuttles designated by the reference numerals 1 and 2 are employed, which shuttles are carried backward and forward through' the corresponding sheds a and a' by a pair of bars 3 and 4. These bars have a reciprocatory movement imparted thereto through the medium of suitable Operating mechanism A which is preferably of the type shown and described m the patent granted to myself and Elmer E. Reynolds, N'o. 809776, dated January 9, 1906. Reference may be had to this patent for a complete description of said mechanism, it being only necessary, so far as the presentinvention is concerned, to state that the respectiveinward and outward movements of the bars take place simultaneously. During their movements, the said bars are guided by means of -looped Vertical straps b and b', arranged in pairjs at the ends of the horizontal cross-pieces 62 and 63 carried by the uprights b4 which form a portion of the loom frame B and are mounted upon the horizontal side beams 115 of the latter, said cross-pieces constituting tlie supplemental frame B'. The hcddles a2 and a which raise and lower the sheds a and a' are themselves actuated in the usual manner by suitable mechanism C operatively connected with the drive shaft 5, said actuating mechanism requiring no specific description, since itis of conventional type.

At the center of the supplemental frame B' is located a support 0, preferably constituted by a trough-shaped plate having its upper and lowerpedges fastened to the adjacentcross-pieces L2 and L3. To the inner face of the front portion of this support there is secured a pair of sockets 7 and 8, each of which has arranged therein a clamping device designed to engage the outer end of the adjacent shuttle. iThese clamps, the Operating mechanism therefor, and the sockets wherein they are disposed, constitute the essential features of the invention, the preferred form of clamp comprising a member which is movable in one direction to engage the shuttle and in the other diretion to release the same.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, it will be seen that the shuttles are provided at opposite ends with catchcs 9 and 10, the front catches 9 being designed to project into the sockets, and the rear catches 10 to project into the front ends of the hollow bars 3 and 4. The clamps, which engage the first-named catches, are shown in the present construction as in the form of oscillatory or rocking rods 11 and 12 disposed in longitudinal openings 13 in the thickened lower portions of the sockets. These rods are provided at their outer ends with fingers 14 and 15, while their inner ends have attached thereto arms 16 and 17 pivotally connected to the upper ends of vertical rods 18 and 19, the lower ends of the latter rods being pivoted in turn'to the front ends of a pair of substantially horizontal rods 20 and 21. Rods 20 and 21 are pivoted at their rear ends to a bracket 22,fastened to a cross-piece 23 supported in the loom frame in any suitable manner, and are rocked or vibrated by a pair of cams 24 and 25 mounted on shaft 5. The cams are so timed that one of the horizontal rods will be swung upwardly while the other descends, carrying with them the rods 18 and 19, which, in turn, operate the rockers 11 and 12. .Consequently, during this operation, the finger on one rocker will be moved into engagement with the catch on one Shuttle, while the finger on the other rocker will be siinultaneously disengaged from the catch on the other Shuttle, or, in other `words, one Shuttle will be clarnped in its socket and the other Shuttle released, the enter ends of Said sockets having the lower portions thereof cut away to permit the\ reqnisite movement of the fingers.

Mechanism of a somewhat Similar nature is also provided for clalnping and unclamping the shuttles in the Shuttle bars; but since this mechanism forms no essential feature of the invention, no description thereof is necessary, beyond the fact that it may include, as shown, a rocker 26 for each bar, provided at one end with a finger 27 arranged to engage the rear catch 10 on the corresponding Shuttle, and at the other end with a lug 28 which is adapted to be engaged and turned by a lug 29 provided upon ythe front end of a horizontal rod 30, this rod being reciprocated by a rocking lever 31 pivoted to the frame of the loom and op- 'erated in any suitable manner from the .drive shaft. The action of the secondary rockers 2G is the same aS that described with reference to the main rockers 11 and 12, one of the said secondary vrockers being caused to' disengage a Shuttle when the other Shuttle is enga-ged by the other rocker, the corresponding main rockers being, respectively, engaged iand disengaged with and from the front. catches of the Shuttles at the Same time.

The operation may be stated as follows, reference being'had to Fig. 1, Wherein the left-hand Shuttle 2 is shown as clamped in the socket 8, and the right-hand Shuttle l is shown as clamped to the Shuttle bar 3, the bars having almost reached the limit of their outward movement. When said bars reach the support 6'on their'succeeding in- Ward movement, the catch end 9 of Shuttle 1 will he projected into socket 7, and the catch end 10 of Shuttle 2 will be projected into the adj acentend of bar 4. At this time, the main and secondary clamping and releasing mechanisms will be actnated, whereupon the main rocker 11 in Socket 7 will be caused-to engage catch 9 of Shuttle 1, and the other main rocker 12- will be caused to disengage catch 10 of Shuttle 2, while the secondary rocker 26 of bar 3 will be turned So as `to disengage catch 10 of Shuttle 1, and the corresponding rocker 26l of bar 4 will be engaged with catch 10 of Shuttle 2. The last-named Shuttle will thus be released from socket 8 and clamped to bar 4, while the firSt-named Shuttle Will be clamped in Socket 8 and released from bar 3. The bars will then start on their outward movement, the heddles being alternately raised and lowered at the proper times in order to permit the passage of the shuttles through the Sheds, as will be understood- It will be seen, therefore, that during each inward movement of the bars, one bar will carry a Shuttle inwardly through its shed, and deposit Said Shuttle in its socket, while the other bar iS empty, and on each outward movement of Said bars, the Shuttle just deposited in its Socket will remain therein and the previously deposited Shuttle Will be carried away from the support-and caused to travel outwardly through its shed, this cycle of Operations being continued until the weaving of the cloth is completed.

I claim as my invention: I

In a loom,'the'combination of a support; a pair of shuttles; mechanism for moving said Shuttles into and out of the Support; a pair of rocking clamps mounted in Said support and arranged to engage said Shuttles when the latter are in place therein; and mechanism for Simultaneouslytrocking one clamp into position to engage one Shuttle and for rocking the other 'clamp into positicn to release the other shut-tle.

In testimony Whereof I have hereunto Set my hand in presence lof two subscribing witnesses.

MADISON L. CHRISTIAN.

Witnesses C. F. SKELLENGER, A. R. PoUND. 

